A retired woman who was strangled in her apartment in Kirov on October 5 may be the latest victim of a serial killer who has left a trail of corpses throughout the Volga region, the regional investigative committee said on Thursday.
The killer, who remains at large, is the suspect in the murder of more than 30 elderly women in the region since 2011, the statement said.
“In each case the victim was a women, aged 75-90, living alone. The killer got them to open their doors by presenting himself as a representative of the apartment co-op or a social worker, entered the apartment and then strangled them,” the statement said, adding that robbery was never a priority.
“Investigators have every reason to believe that the crimes were committed by the same person,” the statement said.
The latest presumed victim, a 79-year-old pensioner in Kirov, was found late on the night of October 5. Her murder, which comes hard on the heels of the murder of two elderly women in Ufa on September 25-27, was committed using the same modus operandi.
Police have circulated a composite sketch of the perpetrator.